Hindustan Copper stock spikes 6% as copper prices hit 11-month high

livemint.com:

Hindustan Copper, a state-owned company engaged in mining copper ore in India, saw its shares zoom 6% to ₹249 apiece in today's early trade, snapping a 5-day losing streak after copper prices rose sharply as investors bet on a drop in global supply. On Wednesday, copper prices surged to their highest level in 11 months, climbing by 3.1%, following a meeting in Beijing where officials from at least 15 Chinese plants discussed potential measures, including the possibility of production cuts.

This sharp increase led to one of the busiest trading days on the London Metal Exchange in years, ending a period of stagnant trading, according to Bloomberg's report. Chinese smelters, facing a crisis due to the significant drop in treatment and refining charges, are considering potential output cuts as they heavily rely on imported raw materials, Bloomberg noted.

However, no concrete decisions were made during the meeting, and specific measures will be disclosed at a later date, sources familiar with the matter informed Bloomberg. Among the discussed potential measures are project delays and a greater emphasis on copper scrap as a raw material rather than concentrate, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources due to the private nature of the discussions.

Additionally, copper has benefited from expectations that the Federal Reserve might conclude its cycle of interest rate hikes, with traders anticipating a shift towards monetary easing possibly as early as June. This rally in copper prices, which began in mid-February, has brought an end to a period of stagnant trading, as outlined in the report.

Hindustan Copper is poised to benefit from the surge in global copper prices. It is the only company mining copper ore in India with